Pushing the boundaries: meet the panel

All the talents: from left, Alastair Sooke, Tania Harrison, Leafcutter John

26 February 2016 • 6:00pm

Be prepared to be informed and entertained by some of the leading pioneers of being creatively brave

Walter Hugo Multi-discipline art duo Walter & Zoniel's achievements range from turning a disused building in a deprived area of Liverpool into a giant nocturnal, glowing jellyfish installation (The Physical Possibility of Inspiring Imagination in the Mind of Somebody Living) to marrying early photographic techniques with the modern-day 'selfie' for members of the public as part of a Tate Britain exhibition.

"We’ve spent the last seven years together, 24/7 pretty much, so our dynamic just formed naturally from that," the couple says. "We work in total submersion on most of our work, and our dynamic often differs from one project to the next."

Credit:
Sophie Williams

Helen Storey MBEAward-winning fashion designer, artist, professor, innovator, Helen has been a major proponent of creative bravery in a career spanning four decades. Her most iconic work is Primitive Streak – with her biologist sister she created 27 dresses signifying the embryonic human development – and the theme of science and fashion runs through her work. Catalytic Clothing is its latest incarnation, an experimental project exploring how garments can purify the air of pollutants.

A member of the Free Radicals group of academics intent on thinking differently about world problems, Helen also set up the Helen Storey Foundation aimed at promoting innovation and creativity across the arts, science, design and technology.

Credit:
2 Shooters Photography

Tania Harrison“People shouldn’t underestimate a festival audience. It’s my job to find what they will like and give them a bit more," says the arts curator of Latitude Festival, the event credited with changing people's perceptions of festivals from unruly quagmires to an occasion catering for a smorgasbord of cultural preferences.

Tania pitched the idea of a "different kind of festival" for people willing to take cultural risks in 2006. Go to Latitude and you could see anything from cabaret, poetry to ballet and, of course, music.

Credit:
Vicki Churchill

Leafcutter JohnThe very personification of a musical artist, Leafcutter John eschews the commercial route to what the record industry would call “success” to carve his own path in composing and performing what has been termed an "electro-acoustic folk hybrid".

A fine-art painting graduate, he turned his back on a fledgling career as a performance artist to concentrate on music. His projects have ranged from installing microphones under a creaky wooden floor to remixing the work of Badly Drawn Boy.

The studio first came to prominence through its expertise in jelly-making, but has since gone on to create immersive flavour-based experiences ranging from a breathable cloud of gin and tonic, to the world’s first multi-sensory fireworks and a Taste Experience for the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.

The studio now consists of a team of creatives, cooks, designers, specialised technicians and architects, who use the very latest technological and scientific knowhow to conceive, experiment, develop and produce unique, original food and drink experiences.

Credit:
Richard Cook

Host: Alastair SookeThe host of the Guinness Creative Summit is an art critic for The Daily Telegraph. As a broadcaster for BBC television and radio, the 34 year-old has made documentaries such as Modern Masters (BBC One) and Treasures of Ancient Rome (BBC Four). He is also a regular reporter on The Culture Show (BBC Two).

Since joining the Telegraph in 2003, Alastair has interviewed many of the world's most famous and creatively daring artists, including Damien Hirst, Anish Kapoor and Jeff Koons.